


Play It Again, Sam

by fadingstrainsofharmony



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers AU, Gen, Loki Is Good, Odin's A+ Parenting, Thor AU, Thor and Loki swap places, Thor is evil, no really Odin is a good dad, no sarcasm intended, that's why this is an AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-10
Updated: 2014-11-09
Packaged: 2018-02-24 19:24:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2593439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fadingstrainsofharmony/pseuds/fadingstrainsofharmony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thor and Avengers AU where Odin actually tells Loki he's a Jotun, and Thor falls to Earth in Afghanistan instead of New Mexico, where he sees Iron Man killing terrorists. As first impressions go, they could be better. Did I mention that Loki becomes a good guy, and all of a sudden, he's saving New York with the Avengers?</p><p>But that's not how it should go, and everyone knows that but says nothing. Loki is the only one who figures out what's happened, and by then, he doesn't want to be a villain again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Play It Again, Sam

**Author's Note:**

> First ever fanfic. Feel free to post comments and constructive criticism, and hope you like it!

Odin was many things.

He was the Allfather, the keeper of the peace, the father of victory, the king of Asgard, the rider of Sleipnir, and the father of the thunder god Thor.

Sadly, he wasn't the father of Loki.

Not the genetic one, at least.

But, as he was currently discovering, that specific bit of news was proving a bit harder than expected to reveal to the other party concerned.

"Laufey," Loki scoffed disbelievingly.

"I am sorry," Odin offered, trying once more to get through to his son. “It is me who is at fault for not telling you earlier."

"And why would you?" Loki muttered, his voice continuing to rise angrily as he spoke. "We of Asgard think of the Jotuns as nothing but mindless killing beasts. I doubt that you would have wished for this news to become widely known. How it would have tainted your flawless reputation -"

"ENOUGH!" Odin bellowed, and to his surprise, Loki fell silent. Loki seemed surprised as well, though that may have been in part due to the bone-crushing hug he was now being gripped in.

"...Father?" he asked tentatively, unsure of how to react. Never before had his father displayed even the slightest hint of affection towards his younger son.

"I am at fault here, Loki," Odin said mournfully. Another surprise, considering Odin had never before conceded that he had ever been wrong. "In not telling you earlier, and for letting my knowledge of your true heritage cloud my judgement of you. But now I realize the stories to be not true of all Jotuns - you, especially."

Loki was skeptical, as he felt he had a right to be. What had brought on this sudden outpour of emotion?

"It was you saving Thor and his belligerent friends that brought me to my senses," Odin admitted, almost as if he could read Loki's thoughts. The younger prince truly hoped that wasn't the case. “You have done so many times before, but it was this one incident that suddenly brought me to my senses. I...I truly am sorry, Loki, and I beg for you to accept my forgiveness." He let go and stepped back. Loki stared at his father, feeling the slightest of tears spring to his eyes - and no, he was a prince of Asgard, he would not cry. Was it not his nefarious plan to get Thor banished to Midgard to begin with so he could take the throne? But his blasted father was giving him second thoughts. Damn the old, sentimental fool.

"I...I..." And Loki blinked the moisture away, his vision clearing to show the Allfather again. He seemed to be moving away from Loki as he spoke, which seemed somewhat contradictory to what he said. "Please do not feel as if this would make you, or your mother, or Thor treat you any differently, as we all...we..."

Only then did Loki realize what he had mistaken for Odin trying to leave. His father was instead stumbling back, and now he was collapsing on the floor - the long-awaited Odinsleep had finally claimed him. Loki rushed forward and caught him, tenderly lowering the Allfather onto the tiled floor.

Damn that old bastard again. Because now Loki was king, as Odin had finally fallen into the clutches of Odinsleep, and Thor was stashed away on Midgard. But, somehow, he found that he didn't want to be. And he couldn't shake that curious feeling that this wasn't how it should have been.

* * *

Thor's first thought was that he didn't know where he was.

His next was that the heat was ungodly, no pun intended, which led him to draw the conclusion that he had somehow done something so blatantly idiotic Loki had decided to throw him onto Muspelheim. Only when he shot upwards and stretched an arm out to summon Mjolnir did he remember he had not, in fact, been sent here by Loki, and that Mjolnir wasn't coming. He couldn't feel that slight crackling of lightning and thunder that he could always feel no matter what, and realized with growing horror that he seemed to be almost entirely Midgardian in terms of physique. He stumbled up, barely wincing as his bare skin came into contact with the scorching sand, and began to walk. He didn't have a direction in mind, but anywhere was better than here. He had never been one to devote himself to his studies, as Loki had, so he had absolutely no idea what sorts of Midgardian beasts roamed this plain of burning sand.

The sun was well into the sky in comparison to the late morning when he had landed when Thor stumbled over a dune, and was finally rewarded with the sight of civilization. With a grin that grew wider by the second, he tumbled over the hill, and started making his way to the town as quickly as he could.

But suddenly, something glinted in the pale sky, and he looked up hopefully. For what, even he wasn't sure. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a man of metal, painted in red and gold, though something told him that it was a man in armor (he wasn't sure what brought on this idea, and had a faint flashing memory of a man with a glowing circle in his chest swearing as he clambered out of the armor, but even as he tried to remember, the memory? hallucination? slipped away). He swooped in over the city, looping around the perimeter once, before diving in. Curious, Thor settled down, waiting to see what this metal (armored) man was about to do.

What he saw next horrified him.

With his enhanced hearing, he could hear the sounds of explosions drifting up from the streets, and plumes of smoke rose into the sky. Sounds that Thor could only describe as something akin to concentrated lightning rang out, and the movement in the streets had definitely increased. But within minutes, the fighting was over, and the metal man swooped out of the destruction, flying off towards the horizon.

To make matters worse, when he finally reached the city, the people barely noticed him. They seemed happy - overjoyed, even as some of their men murdered others of their kind in cold blood in the town square. Thor couldn't understand this meaningless killing that made his blood run cold.

Who said that the Jotuns were vicious. These Midgardians were much, much worse.


End file.
